Response from Tim Kaine's Office

Below is the response from Maribel Ramos, who works for Tim Kaine. Her message is a response to the questions members of ORA posed to her when she attended the May meeting.

1.) Why is Senator Kaine not a sponsor of the Family Act?

Senator Kaine is a cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which lets employees earn paid sick time. This legislation would allow workers to earn paid sick leave to use when they are sick, to care for a loved one, to obtain preventative care, or to address the impacts of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.

2) Would Senator Kaine support Medicare for All?

Senator Kaine introduced Medicare X, which creates an affordable public option, so Americans could choose whether to purchase one of the existing private plans on the exchange or a Medicare-X public plan, and compare the two. His bill creates more competition in the marketplace. Senator Kaine does not want to make 100 million Americans who have employer sponsored health insurance have to switch to a singe payer plan, which the Medicare for All bill would do. His bill would build upon current ACA framework and does not recreate entire system.

3) What is Senator Kaine's stance on Marijuana?

Senator Kaine has cosponsored bills that would allow research on marijuana's medical benefits. He has also supported legislation that would allow its use for epilepsy, remove barriers to research on its benefits. As part of criminal justice reform efforts he is also supportive of reexamining sentences for marijuana and its usage.

4) AUMF

Senator Kaine's proposal repeals the open-ended 2001 and 2002 AUMFs that have been stretched beyond recognition to justify Presidents waging war in more than a dozen countries, from Niger to the Philippines. This bill places new limits on who, where, and when we go to war. It restricts military action to specific non-state terrorist groups and it explicitly states that the President cannot initiate war against sovereign nations— like Syria, Iran, and North Korea —without seeking new Congressional authority. The President has to notify Congress if the Administration initiates military action against new forces associated with Al Qaeda, ISIS, or the Taliban and Congress has 60 days to reject it. This bill creates new time limits. Every four years there is a process for Congress to repeal, modify, or leave in place the AUMF.